Hiromu Takahashi looks to be a five-time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion at Wrestle Kingdom 16 when he faces El Desperado.
Takahashi is coming off his third Best of the Super Juniors victory and has done everything there is to do as a singles star in the junior division, leading some to believe that he will follow in the footsteps of Will Ospreay and eventually make the move to heavyweight.
Hiromu has different ideas.
"The more everyone in the junior division grows, the more jealous I get and the more happy I am. The more rivals I have, the more pressured I feel, and the happier I am. But if I had to pick, I’d say I was more happy than anything negative. The more rivals there are, the more fun I have in the end," Hiromu said in an interview with NJPW when discussing the state of the Junior division. "The more people that come up, the better. But that’s easier said than done. It isn’t even as simple as winning the championship. But one thing is for sure for me- I’ve never planned on being a heavyweight, and don’t plan to now. With him, I’m not sure what he’s thinking. So maybe our fates might change somewhere along the line."
Hiromu noted that one day he needs to be in the main event of the Tokyo Dome. He and Desperado are set to be in the co-main event with Kazuchika Okada and Shingo Takagi headlining for the IWGP World Heavyweight Title.
When asked if he thought about having fans vote on the main event, Hiromu replied, "But that isn’t the way to do it. Even if we voted and they put us last, it wouldn’t be a true main event unless all the fans, and the office recognised it. Even if we had won a vote, the fans would have said their piece, but the company would have thought different. The only way to truly be the main event is if the company and the fans are in line with the same direction. Honestly, that vote idea was on the tip of my tongue during that press conference, after I won BOSJ. I was honestly about to put it out there, and then stopped myself, and decided to have fun with it instead. It sucked we couldn’t be in the main. But at the same time, better to enjoy the spot I’m in, right? Maybe there’s no right answer."
You can view the full lineup for the first two nights of Wrestle Kingdom 16 by clicking here.
Fightful will have live results from NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 16 on January 4 and 5. You can find results from past NJPW events at Fightful's results section.
